The ultimate reward?

May 13, 2013

by Tim Queeney

USCG photo

The rewards of working on a Coast Guard search and rescue team include excitement, meeting a challenge, helping fellow mariners in distress and now, apparently, cookies. When the Oar Northwest — a four-man trans-Atlantic rowing effort seeking to cross from Dakar, Senegal to Miami, Fla. — boat capsized in the North Atlantic on day 73 of their expedition, they were rescued by U.S. Coast Guard personnel. After the four rowers returned to land, the mother of one of the survivors wrote a letter of thanks to the Coast Guardsmen who rescued her son and included a gift of cookies!

From the press release: touching story of appreciation in a way only a mother could express herself, with cookies and a beautifully written letter.

Jordan Hanssen, recently rescued OAR Northwest trans-Atlantic rower, sponsored by the Canadian Wildlife Federation (CWF) made great efforts to visit his rescuers at two USCG stations for “Military Appreciation Month” last week.

Both the Clearwater and Miami Coast Guard Air Stations involved in the early April rescue received a gratitude visit from Jordan, who also presented them with a “Thank You” plaque. But what really resonated with the Miami and Clearwater rescue crews were the homemade cookies sent to them by Jordan’s mother, which also included a touching letter expressing her eternal gratitude.

It is safe to say amongst Jordan’s efforts to personally thank each and every USCG person who served in his rowing crews rescue, coupled with his mother’s touching letter topped by her homemade cookies, both Coast Guard crews felt appreciated not only by the rowing crew they rescued but especially by a grateful mother. Seeing USCG members holding mom’s cookies was a great finishing touch after a successful week of promoting Military Appreciation Month.

Last week’s Military Appreciation tour began with Jordan’s presentation to the USCG Opa Locka Station, in Miami. Ironically, Miami is where the “Africa to Americas Expedition” was originally scheduled to conclude, before the James Robert Hanssen capsized and the expedition was cut short.

Jordan also visited the ACR Electronics factory in Ft Lauderdale, Fla., where he met and said “thank you” to the workers who manufactured the ResQLink Personal Locator Beacons used by the four rowers to signal the USCG when their boat capsized. The Military Appreciation tour then wrapped up at the USCG station in Clearwater, Fla.